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Fully healthy, Jimenez heading to Futures Game

Fully healthy, Jimenez heading to Futures Game

2013 MLB.com Top Prospects: Jimenez rates as a good defensive catcher with an above-average arm

By Gregor Chisholm
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MLB.com |

ST. PETERSBURG -- Catching prospect A.J. Jimenez has put a severe right elbow injury in the past and is now set to represent the Blue Jays at the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game on July 14.

Jimenez is the Blue Jays' 11th best prospect according to MLB.com, but he likely would have been ranked higher if not for last year's injury. Jimenez was limited to just 27 games last season before he had to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament.

The 23-year-old was somewhat limited during this year's Spring Training as well, but he has since made a full recovery. He is batting .443 (35-for-79) with 11 extra-base hits and a 1.053 OPS in 21 games for Class A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire.

The impressive numbers come in a relatively small sample size, but it's actually his defense that will make Jimenez a player to watch in the future. He entered this year having thrown out 43 percent of would-be basestealers throughout his Minor League career and is considered to have well-above average skills behind the plate.

The Puerto Rico native became Toronto's best prospect behind the plate following the offseason trade of Travis d'Arnaud to the Mets. Jimenez's bat still remains a little bit of a question mark, but there seems to be very little debate about his ability to handle a pitching staff.

The 15th annual Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game takes place at 2 p.m. ET on All-Star Sunday at Citi Field in New York and can be seen live on MLB.com, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD and followed live on MLB.com's Gameday. In addition, XM Radio will broadcast play-by-play coverage of the event live on MLB Network Radio XM 89. MLB.com will also provide complete coverage before, during and after the game. Fans can stay updated by following @MLBFutures on Twitter and can send/receive tweets to/from the U.S. and World Team dugouts during the game by tagging tweets with the hashtags #USDugout and #WorldDugout.

Also, for the first time, fans will determine the final player on the U.S. and World Team rosters by casting their votes in the All-Star Sunday Futures Finalists ballot. There are five candidates for each team, and voting ends on Sunday at 11:59 p.m.